The center designation and the level is a voluntary designation for which a hospital can apply. These center designations reflect a range of hospital-based functions within the emergency medical care system and each plays a vital part in the system. Hospitals must meet certain requirements to be designated as a trauma, stroke and/or STEMI center. Those requirements include having specialized medical teams available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each designation - trauma, stroke and heart attack - is granted separately based on a hospital’s ability to meet the requirements of each type of emergency treatment. A hospital can apply for one or more than one of the designations.